Friday Gun Pr0n #99

Today's gun pr0n fits in, numerologically. I consider it a grave personal failing that I do not (yet) own a K-98 Mauser that could have been used for last week's picture, so this week I must atone for my shortcomings...

Good ol' Number 99

That, of course, belongs to a Smith & Wesson model SW99. I've pictured one previously, but that's not the only one I have...

SW99 fullsize .40 S&W (L) and compact 9mm (R)

I picked up the .40 nearly five years ago, not too long after I started getting back into the whole "gun thing". It was a perfect fit to my hand, and from the moment I picked it up I knew I had to bring it home... Turns out the full size was a little too big for concealed carry, so I picked up the smaller compact model in 9mm. I've had the 9mm for a little over 4 years, and in the time I've owned both guns I've put several thousand rounds through each. Both have run perfectly, digesting everything I've tossed through them from high-end Federal +P+s to 20 year old S&B range fodder.

This gun is a collaboration with Walther - Walther makes the polymer frames in Germany, Smith & Wesson makes the slides here in the states. The gun is a striker-fired double action semi-automatic, but it does have a decocker that allows for single-action shooting as well. The gun can be carried safely in double action model, but cocked with a slight draw of the slide to shoot in single-action mode if so desired. It's really a duty/fighting gun, so it's best to just live with the DA first shot and SA follow-ups IMHO.

I've been thinking of getting into some sort of action pistol discipline, and the full-size .40 S&W might be the go-to gun for that. I've got a good Galco pancake holster for leather and a Comp-Tac dual magazine carrier for gear. .40 S&W is more expensive than 9mm, but I'd rather shoot the full-size gun over the compact - at least for the first few outings, that is. All I've got to do is pick up a couple more S&W magazines, but those are relatively cheap these days - no one wants the neutered 10 rounders, so a lot of places have deep discounts even on factory mags.

Hey, we MAholes have to look on the bright side of living behind the Red curtain, right?

That is all.